Marine and terrestrial vertebrates are used to examine the role of organic ion transport in the renal and hepatic excretion of environmental contaminants such as DDT, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4-D0, and the polycyclic aromatic bydrocarbon, benzo(a) pyrene (BP). Topics under investigation include examination of 1) the importance of renal and hepatic organic anion transport in the rate of elimination of xenobiotics or their metabolites; 2) the interference of foreign compounds with elimination of endogenous wastes or toxins; 3) the role of intracellular binding proteins, such as glutathione S-transferases, in transport and toxicity of organic ions; 4) the influence of metabolism on the route and rate of xenobiotic excretion; and 5) the impact of membrane transport-related cellular accumulation in the development of the xenobiotic toxicity in target organs. The role of transport in the elimination of xenobiotics from specific organs, e.g., brain, as well as from the whole organism, is also characterized.